New progress in research on the controllable synthesis and functional properties of multiple doping carbon-based composite thin film was achieved by the Research Group of Tribology of Low Dimensional Materials, State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS.
Diamond-like carbon-based thin film possesses not only high-hardness, good wear-resistance properties, low friction coefficient but excellent corrosion resistance, optical transmission properties and biocompatibility as well. It represents a kind of promising material in such fields of machinery, electronics, automobiles, medicine, optics, etc.
In recent years, to improve the tribological behavior and extend the optical, electronic and magnetic and other functional properties of carbon-based thin film through the doping of multi-metal or nonmetal elements has become an important direction in the research on carbon-based thin film.
With the technologies of vapor deposition and electrochemical deposition, the structure control of amorphous-nanocrystalline composite structure of the multiple doping carbon-based composite thin film was realized and its functionalized properties were investigated by the Group. The key technologies of low stress, high membrane/substrate adhesion and thick plating of the film have been overcome. Various carbon-based thin films developed have already been applied in function protection of key parts in engines, gas bearings, gears and so on. Eight invention patents concerning the related research haven been applied.
Recent research indicates that, as typical n-type dopants, when doped in DLC-based thin film, sulfur and phosphorus can significantly improve the electrical and field emission properties of the film. As the cathode material displayed in field emission, the film has a wide application prospect. When the magnetic metal Fe, Co and Ni are doped in DLC substrate, the typical composite structure of nano-crystalline inlaid on amorphous carbon substrate is formed in the thin film. The DLC-based thin film is endowed with new magnetic effect. Moreover, the agglomeration and oxidation of metal nanoparticles can be effectively prevented. Thus the film possesses application potentials in magnetic recording media. Based on previous research, it is proposed that the deposition mechanism of electrochemically deposited DLC-based composite thin film is not the simple mechanism of polarization-adsorption-electrochemical reaction, but a mixed mechanism, namely the mechanism of polarization-adsorption-electrochemical reaction and the mechanism of plasma reaction.
The research was supported by the 863 program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and National Natural Science Foundation of China. The related work was published in Electrochemistry Communications (Electrochemistry Communications 2010 (12) 61-65; Electrochemistry Communications 2008 (10) 461-465; Electrochemistry Communications 2009 (11) 99-102).
Structure control of amorphous-nanocrystalline composite structure of the carbon-based composite thin film realized through the functional vapor deposition method
Functionalized carbon-based composite thin film with the amorphous-nanocrystalline composite structure obtained through the electrochemical deposition method
